


We'll Find Ourselves Together

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Amnesia, F/M, Gen, Happy Ending, Jack is briefly mentioned, Time Travel, idk which Doctor, probably Nine or Ten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28760394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: “Please tell me you know me,” an unfamiliar voice pleaded from somewhere behind him.“I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t think we’ve met yet. I could help you find the right place in my timeline to find the me you know-”"NO!"
Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	We'll Find Ourselves Together

“Please tell me you know me,” an unfamiliar voice pleaded from somewhere behind him. Even though there was no reason to think that he was the one being spoken to, the Doctor turned around anyways. It’s not as though he could hear someone in such obvious distress and just ignore it. He looked around the crowded street and tried to figure out who had been the one to call out like that. He didn’t have to take a guess, though, since the voice called out again, sounding even more desperate. “Doctor! It’s really you, and you…”

He made his way over to the blonde woman who’d spoken. She stood out somewhat, since the natives of this planet essentially looked like giant Earth crows, and this woman was humanoid. Once they were standing closer to each other, he suddenly felt as though he perhaps should have just kept walking. There was so much hope and expectation in her eyes, but he knew he’d have to let her down. “I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t think we’ve met yet.” 

Her shoulders slumped down, and the brightness in her eyes seemed to fade. She gulped once before looking up at the Doctor glumly. “I understand. Then I should probably just-”

“Perhaps I could help you,” he cut in before he could stop himself. He didn’t recognize her, so she was obviously from his future, but it was more than that. It felt as though there was a connection between them that seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment. “I could help you find the right place in my timeline to find the me you know-”

“No!” The reaction was so instant and loud that both of them seemed equally surprised by it, as did several of the natives passing by. The woman took a few deep breaths, then shook her head before speaking in a softer voice. “No, you can’t help me. It’s just that we- we made a bet.”

The Doctor tilted his head to the side. “You and I?”

She hesitated for just the slightest of moments before nodding. “And if you help me, then I’ll lose. So you can’t do anything for me.”

The Doctor took a moment to study her appearance. She was very young, certainly no older than twenty if she was a human as she seemed to be, and quite haggard looking. Her hair was limp and greasy, with the brown roots showing clearly, and her clothes had the rumpled look of having been slept in. There were dark bags under her eyes that indicated it hadn’t even been peaceful sleep. The Doctor couldn’t imagine making a bet with a companion, or anyone else, that would cause them this level of distress. “Please, are you sure that there’s nothing I can do for you? I just wouldn’t feel right leaving you here all alone.”

The look in those dull brown eyes was one of temptation, but she adamantly shook her head. “Thank you, but no. Sometimes, it has to just be better with one.” Then she turned and walked away before the Doctor even got the chance to ask her name. Part of him was tempted to follow her, but the rest of him quickly decided that would be weird and creepy. He could only hope that she’d find the Doctor she was looking for sooner rather than later. Until then, he could only wait until whenever it was that he’d meet her for the first time.

,,,

The owner of the pub kept shooting the Doctor annoyed looks. “I’m almost done, I’m almost done!” he shouted, even though it was a fairly quiet Tuesday afternoon. He screwed a few things back into place, then took a step back from the radio. The Doctor frowned when nothing happened, and reached into his jacket to pull the sonic screwdriver back out. “I don’t understand,” he muttered under his breath. According to the readings, the radio should be completely repaired by now. 

“Did you try turning it on?” And before the Doctor could respond to that frankly ridiculous and insulting question, a hand reached past him and turned the knob, which led to soft music crooning out of the speakers. 

The Doctor turned to look at his clever new friend, and realized that she looked familiar. It took him a moment to place her face, since she looked much less worn down than she had in their last encounter. Perhaps this was even their first meeting…? “Thanks. I’m the Doctor.” He held out his hand and stared at her with unabashed curiosity.

After a moment, the woman nodded at him, but didn’t accept the handshake. The Doctor wasn’t offended by that, though, because he was far too used to all kinds of cultural differences from the many varying peoples he’d met. “I know,” she said softly. “Can I buy you a drink?”

They moved to sit at the bar, and two beers were pushed in front of them without a word being said. “As thanks for the radio,” the owner said gruffly before shuffling over to help one of the few other customers here at this time of day. 

The Doctor took a tiny sip of the beer, but immediately grimaced and shoved the glass away from him before turning to look at the mysterious woman. There was a clear fondness in her gaze when she looked back at him. He wanted to ask if she’d ever found him, but wasn’t sure if this was before or after she’d gotten lost from him in the first place, so he was left just staring at her with a slightly open mouth, probably looking like a complete fool.

She giggled, and it made the Doctor’s hearts beat a little faster. “So this is what you do in your spare time? Save people, explore the universe, fix broken radios?”

The Doctor shrugged one shoulder. “Sometimes. You should know that already, though, right? If you know me? Where’s the me that’s in your timeline?”

That question broke the light, teasing mood, and the woman frowned down at her hands. The Doctor followed her gaze and looked at her nails, which had just a few chips of pink nail polish left on them, clearly not having been touched up on in at least a few weeks. “Haven’t found him yet,” she finally answered.

Now that was a surprise. Considering that the last time he’d seen her had been four hundred years from now on a planet halfway across the galaxy. “How’d you wind up here without the TARDIS?”

She let out a heavy sigh that suddenly made her look much older than her face gave on. “You’re not the only one in the universe who can travel time and space, you know.” When the Doctor just stared at her, she let out an awkward laugh. “I have a friend with a vortex manipulator. He thinks that he owes me for certain… things from the past, so he’s willing to loan it to me until I don’t need it anymore.”

The Doctor shuddered in (mostly) mock horror. “Ugh, time travel without a vessel? That can’t be pleasant.”

She shrugged. “It’s alright, I don’t travel much anymore these days.”

“Aren’t you still looking for me?”

There was a long pause, and then she suddenly grabbed her glass to chug half of it in one go before setting it back down on the glossy bar. “I was never looking for you.” When the Doctor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, she sighed. “It’s against the rules of the bet. I can’t look for you, and you can’t help me in any way.”

The Doctor frowned. “What exactly are the terms of this bet?” It certainly didn’t sound like something he would do, but he didn’t even know how far in his future this woman was from. For all he knew, he wouldn’t meet her for another five regenerations- although she had recognized this face of his, so maybe not. 

There was a pause that lasted just long enough for him to think she would say nothing before she finally spoke. “You have to find me- the you from my time. I can move around as much as I want, but I can’t actively look for you or reach out to you. If I happen to bump into any other version of you, you cannot provide any help.”

“I don’t understand. What’s the point of this? I can’t see myself ever making such a bet. What would I even win?”

She let out another sigh before shrugging. “You were very confident in yourself going in. At the time I thought it meant that you had some kind of trick up your sleeve. Now… well. It’s been quite a while, Doctor, and you haven’t found me yet. I guess I’m just not important enough for you to remember me.”

The Doctor immediately shook his head. “I’m sure that’s not true. In all my years I’ve never met a single person who wasn’t important.” When she didn’t say anything, the Doctor’s frown deepened. “There must be more to this bet than you’re letting on. I’m sure if I knew more-”

“I already explained that you can’t help,” she told him softly. “But thank you for trying.” She stood up, and reached out like she wanted to touch the Doctor’s hand, but dropped her arm before she could make contact. “No matter what else happens, I swear that the happiest days of my life have been traveling with you, so don’t go deciding to leave me behind for my own good, or something.”

The Doctor shook his head again. “It would be a paradox if I tried,” he said automatically. “Besides that… I get the feeling that we’ll have quite the adventures together.”

,,,

It wasn’t until many, many years later that the Doctor finally understood. He hadn’t even seen the blonde woman anywhere nearby, hadn’t thought about her in years, but then she was suddenly jumping in front of him to take what would surely be a fatal blow. He caught her as she collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll, cradling her to his chest like she was something precious.

“No, you can’t leave me, Rose, please.” He wasn’t even sure where that name came from, but as soon as he said it, all of his memories came flooding back. He’d always been the right Doctor she’d been looking for, he just hadn’t known it.

He remembered how they’d been captured by a clever and sadistic alien with a weakness for gambling, and that things had seemed even more grim than usual. The Doctor had offered to make a bet with their captor, a complicated deal full of rules that essentially boiled down to he had to find Rose no matter which random backwater planet the alien would drop her off on. The twist that hadn’t been discussed was that the alien had pulled out a memory filter to remove the Doctor’s memories of Rose, claiming that it wouldn’t be entertaining enough if the stakes were too low.

“I’m so sorry, Rose, I’ve failed you,” he murmured under his breath. He very carefully picked her up and carried her to the TARDIS so that he could take her to the medbay. In any less-sophisticated setup, Rose probably wouldn’t have survived her wound.

As it was, though, the Doctor was lucky enough to see Rose wake up and look at him the same way she had last time, like she was too afraid to even hope for anything when it came to him. “You really should be more careful,” she grumbled. “Watch where you’re going next time.”

He couldn’t keep up a pretense for even a moment. The Doctor moved closer to pull her into a tight hug. “Rose Tyler, I have missed you.”

She let out a soft gasp before returning the hug and burying her face against his chest. It only took a few seconds before he could feel the tears start to soak through his shirt, but he didn’t care. He was just overwhelmingly grateful that he could still have this, have her. “Does this mean you’ve won?”

“Come on, you know me. When have I ever lost a bet before?” He didn’t ask her how long it had been, and she didn’t volunteer the information. But that didn’t matter. What mattered is that they were reunited, and the Doctor promised himself that he was going to stick with Rose for however long she was willing to let him. Hopefully forever. 

**Author's Note:**

> Like many of my stories these days, I just ran out of steam and kinda wrapped it up suddenly lol


End file.
